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I believe in using a metronome frequently, and it’s never too early to start. Occasionally Tony mentions the metronome, but I don’t recall any lessons built around use of the metronome.
As far as getting your chord transitions down first, I say don’t wait. You don’t necessarily have to use the metronome to practice your chord transitions, at least initially, but at least start practicing single string picking with it.
You mentioned some success on quarter notes and then a lack of success with eight notes. You did not mention speed. A quarter note at a certain tempo is exactly as long as an eighth note at half that tempo.
My advice is to start fairly slow, just using down picks on a single string. Don’t even worry about playing a scale or melody. Initially just try to make one down pick on every click, say at 60 bpm. Slow it down if this seems difficult. And try to tap your foot in time with the metronome as you do this.
You did not say whether you tried all down picks or a D-U-D-U technique when you tried to do eighth notes. Definitely try the D-U-D-U approach. Remember to tap your foot once per click in time with the metronome. If it is too hard, slow the tempo until you find some success.
If this seems difficult, recognize that it takes time to learn it. Give yourself a chance. Gradually speed up the metronome as you gain confidence.
Next, learn a simple melody, something like “Mary had a Little Lamb.” Start playing that to the metronome, slowly at first and gradually increasing speed.
As you get more confident with chord transitions, pick two chords that are easy for you and start practicing alternating between just those two chords to the beat of the metronome. This will most likely need to be at a speed much slower than the other things you were doing. Maybe 40 bpm. If that’s too fast, only strum on every other beat. The point is to begin internalizing your sense of timing and to have discipline and accuracy as to when you strum, your fretting hand will eventually learn to keep up with your strumming hand and tapping foot.
I hope to hear back from you in a few weeks to see whether you see improvement. Too often, we’re impatient and looking for a quick fix. Give yourself enough time to learn this. We often get to practice only a few minutes per day, so it’s unfair to expect we’ll just turn on the metronome and things will just fall into place. Be patient. The metronome is a quantitative thing and over time you will be able to measure progress very objectively.
I’m playing some bluegrass melodies around 170-180 bpm these days, but I still have quite a way to go to truly get them “up to tempo.” It has taken quite a few years of practice to get to where I am, and it will take a lot more practice to get to where I want to be. But I have lately started a few new tunes and had them up to the 130-140 range pretty quickly – less than an hour after starting the tune.
You can get good results too if you pay your dues. The key to keeping good time is practicing regularly over a long time with patience. Did I just say the key to good time is time? Yes, in fact I did.